Allianz Football League Division One, round three
Derry v Galway (Saturday, Celtic Park, 5pm)
IT’S top (Galway) versus joint-bottom (Derry) in the Bogside and another defeat for the home side will spark concerns that their alarming free-fall is continuing despite the change in manager.
At this stage last year, the Oak Leafers had beaten Kerry in Tralee and thumped Mickey Harte’s native Tyrone on home soil on their way to winning the National League title.
But that was then and, 12 months on, new manager Paddy Tally (part of the Kerry management team last year) is just two games into his tenure since his appointment in late November.
Tally hasn’t had much time to settle but time is a luxury he doesn’t have in a typically cut-throat Division One, or in the Championship that will follow hard on its heels.
Derry need a result at home or - with trips to Dublin, Donegal and Armagh to come in a difficult run-in – they’ll find themselves under pressure in the relegation dogfight.
Results so far haven’t been what they’d have hoped for obviously, but it’s not as if Derry have forgotten how to play football. There are reasons to be optimistic but Tally’s men have been out-sprinted down the stretch in the closing stages of their first two games.
First Tyrone ran away with it in Healy Park and then Kerry won a crazy game in round two.
Shane McGuigan’s brilliant point brought Derry’s total to 1-24 against the Kingdom but, with the end in sight, an unfortunate fumble allowed Donal O’Sullivan to level and just seconds later Paul Geaney’s second goal completed a smash-and-grab comeback win for the visitors.
The two-week break would have been welcome after that drama and Tally has had a fortnight to get it out of his and his players’ systems and set focus on a Galway side that will bring a dangerous mix of skill and physicality to Celtic Park.
Sickened by losing last year’s All-Ireland final (their second in three years) to Armagh, Padraic Joyce’s men began the season looking well-versed on the new rules and they swept the misfiring Orchardmen aside on opening weekend in a wet and windy Salthill.
After that, they travelled to Castlebar and the long-range prowess of Shane Walsh and evergreen Paul Conroy – an All-Ireland minor winner against Derry in 2007 - inspired them to a 10-point success.
“You could see from the first two games against Armagh and Mayo, they have really taken advantage of the two-point scoring arc, the speed of the ball, the quick transfer, plus they are athletic,” said Tally.
“They’re a big, strong team so the teams that have been playing that type of football more over the past number of years have benefitted from the rule changes.
“They have come out of the blocks very fast. They are a very talented team, very experienced with a lot of players who have played in two All-Ireland finals over recent years. Plus, they still have a few players to come back into that team, boys who didn’t play against Mayo.
“Galway will certainly have a say in how things work out this season.”
Over the past couple of weeks Tally and his players will have worked hard to address the defensive lapses that have leaked seven goals in two games so far. Derry won’t survive in the top flight if that continues but the injury list that includes Padraig McGrogan, Conor McCloskey, Gareth McKinless and Niall Loughlin doesn’t help and there are question marks over whether Ciaran McFaul, who limped off with a hamstring injury against Tyrone, will be fit to face the Tribesmen. On the plus side, Lochlan Murray returned against Kerry and should be fully fit.
The new rule on kickouts has put the focus back on midfield and fans can expect a battle royale between Conor Glass, Brendan Rogers and Anton Tohill and Galway behemoths like Conroy and John Maher. It’s all about hands on the ball and both sides have the firepower to win this game if they see enough of it.
The Tribesmen have taken two excellent scalps so far, but have they just burst out of the blocks quicker than everyone else? Meanwhile, Derry are better than their place in the table tally suggests. Saturday will prove where both are at and Galway will have to fight to bring the two points home.
Derry: TBC
Galway: C Gleeson; J McGrath, S Fitzgerald, L Silke; D McHugh, J Daly, S Kelly; P Conroy, J Maher; S O’Neill, S Walsh, C Darcy; C O Curraoin, M Tierney, F O Laoi
